Kim Kardashian West has dropped a defamation lawsuit against a tabloid website who published allegations she lied about being the victim of an armed robbery in Paris.
The reality TV mogul was bound and gagged by two masked men who allegedly held a gun to her head after breaking into her luxury accommodation in Paris on 3 October. French police said the suspected thieves made off with millions of pounds worth of jewellery.
In the week after the robbery, Kardashian West filed a lawsuit against the tabloid website MediaTakeOut and its founder Fred Mwangaguhunga over several stories they ran which the suit claimed accused “without any factual support whatsoever, that Kardashian faked the robbery, lied about the violent assault then filed a fraudulent claim with her insurance company to bilk her carrier out of millions of dollars”.
On 24 October, the website published a retraction under the headline: “Kim Kardashian Was In Fact ROBBED In Paris!!!”
“MediaTakeOut regrettably published a series of false stories about Kim Kardashian West suggesting she faked the robbery in Paris, lied to authorities and then filed a $5.6million fraudulent insurance claim for her stolen jewellery,” the statement said. “MediaTakeOut knows that Mrs Kardashian West was in fact robbed in Paris. We have permanently removed from our website any and all posts that suggested she staged the robbery, lied about it to the French police and committed an insurance crime.
“We sincerely apologise to Mrs Kardashian West and her family for the false stories we published and regret suggesting that what happened to her in Paris was anything less than horrific. We are pleased that this matter has been resolved to satisfaction of all the parties.”
The 36-year-old’s lawyer has since confirmed that, following the retraction, the legal action would be dropped.
“The matter has been resolved to the parties’ mutual satisfaction. Consequently, we voluntarily dismissed the action today,” her lawyer Andrew Brettler said.
Kardashian West's high-profile status ensured interest in the story was colossal. However, since the robbery, she has kept a low profile and has not been seen in public nor updated any of her social media channels including her subscription-based app since. Family members have said she is “not doing great” since the incident but has a large support system around her and is spending lots of time with her children.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Kardashian West and MediaTakeOut.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
